Poker mechanism for gas-producers.



PATENTED SEPT..10, 1907;

RSHBLDON I POKER MECHANISM FOR GAS: P

RODJIGER APPLIOATIQN FILED JUNE 7,1906.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 1 //0 I/I I norm-57mins me um WASEHNGWLIZC.

PATENTED SEPT. 10, 1907.

APPLIUATION FILED JUNE 7 l 2 fiHEBTS-BHBET 2.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SAMUEL B. SHELDON, OF BUFFALO, NEW'YORK.

POKER MECHANISM FOR GAS-PRODUCERS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 10, 1907.

Applicationfiletl June 7,1906. Serial to. 320,624..

To all whom it may comern:

Be it known that I, SAMUEL BiSrrELDoN, a citizen of the United States, of Buffalo. in the county of 'Erie and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Poker Mechanism for Gas- Producersg and I do hereby declare that the following .is

I a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference i through which the pokers extend.

Among the objects 9f the invention is to improve the construction and operation of poker mechanisms for the purpose specified, and the invention consists in the matters hereinafter set forth and. more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

lnthe drawings :-Figure 1 is a top plan view of a gas producer provided with my novel poker mechanism. Fig. 2' is a vertical section taken on line 22 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the upper part of the producer and the poker mechanism, with parts broken away. Fig. 4 is a cross-section taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a horizontal plan view illustrating the position of the pokers relatively to each other.

As shown in the drawings, .A designates the vertical annular wall of the combustion chamber of the producer and A the discharge pipe which directs the gas from the producer.

B designates, as a whole, the revolving top of 'the v into and withdraw them from the fuel bed, and such reciprocation thereof, combined with the circular movement imparted thereto by the rotative top wall, serves to thoroughly stir or agitate the fuel bed.

D designates the coal feeding chute through which coal is fed to the combustion chamber of the producer. Said chute is narrow and is mounte'dradially on the rotative top wall the feed slot or opening at the bot tom of the hopper is substantially equal in length to the radiu's ofathe top ,so that, as the top rotates, the coal is fed 5 5 positively feeding the coal through said chute, consisting, in this instance, of a conical roller 1) located in said chute and provided with trun'nions d d mounted in suitable bearings in the inner and outer end walls of the chute. One of the side walls of the chute is arranged to partially cover the conical feed rollers and to form a deflecting surface d (Fig. 4) which directs the coal between the descending side of the roller and the adjacent side of the chute. The roller is provided on its conical surface with a series of longitudinal pockets which cooperate with a plate or flange d extending inwardly from the side wall of the chute to control the feed of material therethrough. The said roller is driven from a motor E, mounted on the rotative top well, through the medium of a train of gears e e e and as indicated in Fig. 1.. The cover B is herein shown as rotated through the I medium ofan annular rack b meshingwith a gear wheel B fixed-to the upper end of a rotative shaft B, at one side of the producer chamber. Conveniently, 'antifriction'bearings are interposed between the rotative cover and the top of the producer chamber. As herein shown, an annular ring B surmounts the vertical wall of said chamber and is provided with upwardly extending, annular flanges b b and bearing rollers are interposed between the angle of the outer flange b and the ring and adownwardly extending annular flange b of the. cover B. -A water seal is formed at this point to prevent the escape of gas from the producer chamber. prises, in combination with the annular chamber 5 formed between the two vertical flanges b b referred to and designed to be filled with a liquid, a downwardly directed flange b on the cover which dips into the liquid in said annular chamber.

The said poker shafts are supported upon and extend through suitable openings in-a platform or support F that is mounted on the cover It in a manner to have swinging or oscillatory movement about an axis radial to the co er. Said platform is held yieldingly in position on its pivot through. the medium of suitable springs, constructed to permit the platform to oscillate I or swing in either direction frcuirits normal horizontal position, while normally holding the platform horizontal. This manner of mounting the pokersupport is provided in orderto permit the pokers to yield backwardly under the lateral stress brought thereon when forced into the fuel bed, thereby preventing such stress bending or distorting the poker shafts. As herein shown, the said platform F is pivoted to the upper ends of standards or posts F rising from the cover B by means of pivot trunnions f extending laterally from the platform and having bearing in the upper ends of said" posts. The springs referred to -for yieldingly main tainirig the platform horizontal have the form of spiral A convenient form of water seal comsprings F, as herein shown, interposed between the ends'of the platform and the said rotative top Wall E. Springs for the purpose specified may, however, be otherwise formed and mounted.

The shafts C of the pokers extend through guide openings F formed in the lower ends of sleeves F' made integral with and extend downwardly from the platform F into the upper end of the producer chamberf The said sleeves F and the poker shafts that reciprocate therethrough are water-cooled in order to protect the same from the heat of the lire below.

For this purpose, the said sleeves are surrounded by water chambers f formed between said sleeves and shells 1'' also made integral with said platform or support. The'said water chambers f open upwardly and cooperate with downwardly opening cylindric casings G attached to and surrounding the shafts of the pokers and adapted to enter said chambers f around. the

sleeves F and dip at their lower ends into the water latory platform or support F and the revolving ton Wal 1 i l or cover of the producer, the said platform or support is constructed to cooperate with the cover to form a Water-seal. Said water-seal is made as follows: The platform is provided with a downwardly extending,

continuous flange f which dips at its lower margin into an upwardly opening chamber b formed on the upper surface of the revolving cover and surrounded by the annular flange b on which is formed the annular rack 1) before referred to. The said flange f is made of such depth that its lower'nrargin remains submerged in the sealing chamber b in all positions of the oscillatory support and the revolving top wall of the producer is not broken when said platform is swung to one side or the other of itsnormal horizontal position.

i The means herein shown for imparting a rec1pro .:atory motion to the pokers embraces a motor H sup- I ported on the platform or support F and connected by a train of gears h h IF h with a horizontal, rotativeshalt I that is mounted on standards I l rising irom the platform or support on each side of the gear wheel fr. Said shaft is provided at its ends with cranks I l which are connected by links I" I with cross-heads I I that have sliding engagement with vertical guides J J rising from and supported on the oscillatory platform. The upper ends of the shafts of the pokers are connected with said cross-heads. whereby the rotary motion of said shaft imparts vertical reciprocation to the pokers. The said cranks I l are directed in up posite directions from the shaft 1, whereby the poker-s C are operated alternately to force the same into the fuel bed. The said poker shafts may be adjust-ably connected with the cross-heads in such manner that the distance which the pokers penetrate the fuel bed may be varied, while the total stroke of the pokers ar main the same. To this end the poker shafts may ex tend through openingsin the cross-head and be fixed thereto by set-screws t thereby permitting the pokers to be raised or lowered as desired relatively to said cross-heads. v

In practice, the reciprocatory movement of the pokcrs is comparatively rapid. relatively to the speed of rotation of the top wall B of the producer chamber, so that the duration of the lateral strain or stress brought on the pokers. due to such rotation. is not great for each reciprocation thereof and is readily compensated for. Moreover, it is unnecessary for the pokers to penetrate the burning fuel to a great depth when the operation of the pokers is rapid and continuous, therebyminimizing the lateral; stress brouglrtnpon the pokers and their shafts and enabling such stress to be compensated for by a comparatively short oscillation-of the platform or support in which the pohers are mounted.

The pokers are made of such width, whatever the number thereof, as to cover practically the radius of the circular fuel bcd. ln producers of ordinary size two pokers of the construction shown are sufficient to cover the area required. The pokers are shown as ar ranged one in rear of the other. relativelyto their cir cular direction of movement and inclined relatively to each other and to a given radius of the ber (Figs. 2 and 5). This arrangement may be conveniently effected by disposing the shaft. 1 with its axis at an angle to a given radius of the fuel bed. An advantage of this arrangement of the poker-s is that the fuel bed is more thoroughly stirred or agitated with less lat cral stress on the pokers than if the pokcrs be arranged side by side in the same plane.

- The pokers and the conical feed roller are made hollow and are water-cooled to avoid overheating. The cooling liquid is introduced into the hollow iced roller through a pipe R that extends through the hollow trunproducer cham-' nion r! at the larger end of the roller and'into the interior of the roller. and the heated liquid is discharged from said hollow roller through said hollow trunnion around the pipe K into a drain pipe K. The cooling liquid is introduced into the hollow poker shafts and poliers through inlet pipes L that extend to the lower ends of the hollow pokers, and the heated liquid is discharged therefrom through outlet or drain pipes L Conveniently the heated liquid is discharged from the pipes L into the sealing chambersf, which seals the openings in the supporting platform 1" through which the shafts of the pokers extend. As herein shown, the scaling chamber b" is also replenished by water that drains from the scaling chambersf-' through lateral gut tors f leading from the tops of said scaling chambers.

The operation of the mechanism described will be apparent from the foregoing. but may be briefly stated follows: The top wall of the producer chamber is rotated slowly through the medium of the gear wheel 13 while the pokers are rcciprocated rapidly througlrthe medium of the motor H, the train of gears and the crank-shaft l. said pokers penetrating the fuel bed alternately. The circular movement of the pokcrs imparted thereto by the rotating top wall I; places a rear ward stress on the pol-:ers when forced into the fuel bed, as is obvious. and such stress is communicated to the spring sustained. oscillatory platform i by which the such as would tend to occur if the pokers were nonyieldingly supported in the top wall. -Said springs, while permitting the pokers to yield backwardly under heavy stress, are made of sufficient strength to hold the pokers to their work to properly stir the fuel bed under normal conditions and return the pokers to theia: normal positions when withdrawn from the fuel bed. Moreover, the resistance which causes the pokers to yield backwardly is greatest when the pokers reach the limit of their downward strokes and is gradually lessened as the pokers are withdrawn from the fuel bed. As a consequence the spring pressure exerted on the pokers act, when the pokers are rising out of the fuel bed, to displace the upper portion of the fuel or throw it forwardly and thereby promote the stirring of the fuel.

I claim as my invention 1. i -he combination with a gas producer and its rotative top wall, of a poker extending through said top wall into the producer and having yielding co ection with said top wall, permitting its lower end to 321d backwardiy relatively to the direction of rotation of said top wall.

2. The combination with a gas producer and its rotative top wall, of a poker extending through said top wall into the producer and having yielding connection with said top wall, permitting backward yielding of the lower end of the poker relatively to the direction of rotation of the top wall, and means for giving endwise reciprocatory motion to the poker.

3. The combination with a gas producer and its rotative top wall, of a springcontrolled poker support mounted on said top wall; a poker mounted in said support and extending into the producer, and means for giving endwise reciprocatory motion to said poker.

4. The combination with a gas producer and its rotative top wall, of a poker support pivoted to the top wall to oscillate on an axis substantially radial to the top wall, a poker mounted in.said support and means for giving endwise reciprocatory motion to the poker.

5. The combination with a gas producer and its rotative top wall, of a poker support pivoted to said top wall to oscilliate on an axis substantially radial to the said top wall, a poker mounted in said support and extending-into the producer, a spring applied to said support in a manner permitting the poker to yield rearwardly against izhe resistance exerted on the poker by the fuel bed, and means for giving endwise reclprocatory motion to the poker.

6. The combination with a gas producer and its rotative top wall, of a poker support pivoted on said top wall to oscillate about an axis substantially radial to said wall, a poker mounted in said-support and extending into said producer, springs interposed between said support and top wall, one on each side of the pivot of the support, and means or giving endwise reciprocatory motion to said poker.

v 7. The combination with a gas producer and its rotative top wall, of an oscillatory poker support mounted on said top wall, a poker extending through said support into the chamber, and mechanism carried by said support for giving endwise reciprocatory motion to said poker.

8, The combination with a gas producer and its. rotative top-wall, of a spring controlled, oscillatory poker support mounted on said wall, a poker extending through said top wall, and actuating means forsaid poker mounted on said support. 1

9. The combination with a gas producer and its rotative top wall, of an oscillatory poker support mounted on said wall, pokers extending through said support into said chamber, actuating means for said pokers mounted on said support, comprising a rotative sba-ft provided with cranks v operatively connected with said pokers, and a. motor havchamber, poker actuating mechanism, carried by said support, comprising a rotative shaft provided with cranks, cross-heads operatively connected with said cranks to which said pokers are attached, guides rising from said support in which said cross-heads slide, and, a motor on the support having geared connection with said shaft.

11. The combination with a gas producer and its rota tive top wall, of an oscillatory poker support mounted on said top wall, :1 poker extending through said support into the producer, means for giving endwise reciprocatory motion to said poker, and means for varying the effective.

stroke of the poker.

11!. The combination with a gas producer and its rotative top wall, of an oscillatory poker support mounted on said wall. a poker extending through said support into said chamber. poker actuating'mechanism carried by the.

poker and the top wall embracing a water receptacle on} the top-wall surrounding said opening and a downwardly opening easing attaching to the poker and extending into the same, said receptacle being made of a length at least as great as the stroke of the poker.

14. The combination with a gas producer and its rota tive top wall, of a'poker extending through an opening in said wall to the producer a'nd having yielding connection with the top wall, permitting it to yield backwardly relatively to the direction of rotation of said top wall, and means for water-sealing said opening.

15. The'combination'with a gas producer and its rotative top wall, and means 'for water sealing the joint between the body of the producer and said top wall, of a poker support supported and having oscillatory movement 'on said top wall, a pokerv mountedin said support and extending into the producer, and means for water-sealing the joint between said oscillatory support and said top wall. i

16. The combination with a gas producer and its rotative top wall, of a poker support yieldingly mounted on said top wall, a poker mounted in said support and ex tending into the producer and means for watersealin'g the joint between the support and the top wall.

17. The combination with a gas producer and its rotative top wall, of'a poker support pivoted to the top wall to oscillate on an axis substantially radial to said top wall, a poker mounted in said support, and means fog water-sealing the joint betweemthe said support and this top wall.

18. The combination with a gas producer and its rotative top wall, of a poker support yieldingly mounted on said top wall, a poker mounted in said support and extending into the producer, means for water-sealing the joint between said support and top wall, and means for giving endwise reciprocatory motion to'said poker.

19. The combination with a gas producer and its rotative top wall, of a poker support yieidingiy mounted on said top wall, a poker mounted in said support and extending into the producer, said support being provided around the poker with a continuous or closed flange, and the top wall being formed to provide a sealing chamber into which said fiang'e extends.

20. The combination with a gas producer and its' rotative top wall, of an oscillatory poker support mounted tive top wall, of an oscillatory poker support mounted on the scaling chamber.

support through which the poker extends.

to the direction of rotation of said top wall.

said-waiL'a poker extending through -an opening in said I support, said support being provided around said opening with an upwardly opening sealing chamber and a casing fixed to and surrounding said poker and extending into 2 2% The-combination with a gas producer audits rotative top wall, of-an oscillatory poker support mounted on said wall, a poker and a water-cooled guide carried by said '24. The combination with a gas producer and its rotative top wall, of. two pokers extending through an opening in said top wall, and flattened at their lower ends, one of said pokers being disposed in rear of the other, relatively :25. The combination with'a gas producer and its rotative top wall, oitwo poker-s extending through an opening in the top wall and flattened at their lower ends, means for reciprocating said pokors comprising a rotative shaft carried by" said top wait and operatively connected with said poker, said shaft being inclined relatively to a given radius of said rotati've top wall.

'26. The combination with a gas producer and its rota tive top wall, of two pokers extending through an opening in said top wall and flattened at their lower ends, said flattened lower ends of the'pokers being inclined relatively to each other.

27. The. combination with a gas producer and its rota- .ive top wall, or two pokers extending through an opening in said top wall and flattened at their lower ends, said flattened ends of the pokers being inclined relatively to a given radius of the rotative top wall and to each other.

28. The combination with a gas producer and its rota-.

cooling said poker and means for conducting the heated water discharged from the poker to said water-seal.

29. The combination with a gas producer and its rotative top wall, of an oscillatory poker support mounted on said wall, means for water-sealing the joint between said support and top wall, a poker extending through an open ing in said support into the combustion chamber, means for water-sealing said opening, means for water-cooling said poker-5 means for conducting the heated water dis charged from the poker to the water-seal around said poker opening, and means for conducting the overflow from said latter seal to the water-seal between said poker sup port and top wall.

In testimony. that I claim the foregoing as my invention 1 afliir my signature in presence of two witnesses, this 2d day of June A. D. 1 906.

Witnesses 2 A. C. BrAM, Ax'rnosr H. VOGEL.

SAMUEL n. SHELDON. v 

